Confirmed Conspiracies
These are all of the confirmed conspiracies in the material. July Plot: Since the late 1930s, there had been repeated attempts by various groups in the German resistance to assassinate Adolf Hitler and overthrow the Nazis. As time went on, Hitler became increasingly suspicious and more heavily guarded, and often changed his schedule at the last minute. The men behind the July Plot were a group of high-level German military leaders who recognized that Hitler was leading Germany in a suicidal war on two fronts. They decided to assassinate him then stage a coup d’état, with the belief that a new government in Berlin would save Germany from complete destruction at the hands of the Allies. During a July 20 meeting in a Wolf’s Lair conference room with Hitler and more than 20 German officers and staff, Stauffenburg planted an explosives-packed briefcase under a table that the Nazi leader was using. Stauffenberg then said he had to make a phone call and left the room. Another officer subsequently happened to move the briefcase out of place, farther away from Hitler. The bomb detonated at 12:42 p.m. One died instantly and three others were mortally wounded; however, Hitler suffered only minor injuries. When the news came through that Hitler was alive, General Friedrich Fromm (1888-1945), commander of the reserve army and someone who condoned the July Plot, turned on the conspirators in order to have his association with them covered up. Stauffenberg and Olbricht were arrested and executed on July 21. Hundreds of people thought to be involved in the conspiracy also soon were arrested, and around 200 eventually were executed. Julius Caesar: Julius Caesar was killed on the 15th March 44 BCE (Ides of March) The conspirators called themselves Liberators Caesar angered them by calling himself Dictator Perpetuo (dictator for life). Rome at that time was a republic and this principle was threatened by Caesar’s assent to becoming the wealthiest man in Rome along with gaining public support. Mark Antony and Brutus commenced Civil war and Brutus seeing defeat stabbed himself. The conspiracy overall failed, their aim was to keep the power of Rome with the people; however, after the wars Octavian was crowned the first Emperor of Rome. Abraham Lincoln: Abraham Lincoln was killed on the 14th April, 1865 CE. 5 days after the end of the Civil war. The killer was John Wilkes Booth who was part of a group of confederate conspirators. Lincoln angered the confederates. When they separated form the Union in 1861 he was determined to reunite the country even if it meant fighting a civil war. In the years before the civil war the southern states relied on slavery. Lincoln regarded slavery as unjust.Lincoln died around 8 hours since being shot at 7o’clock the next morning. The public were saddened by his death. After his death those bent on revenge were able to gain influence. Booth was pursued to a farm and when trying to escape was shot in the neck. Overall the conspiracy was a failure as America has had no more civil wars, slavery was eventually abolished and America United. Lincoln greatest wish was ‘A just and lasting peace with malice toward none and charity toward all.’ The Gunpowder Plot: It was a plot to assassinate king James I with explosives. It occurred in November in 160.5 It was lead by Robert Catesby. They managed to get 36 barrels of gunpowder into the cellar of parliament house. It failed because Lord Monteagle who was the brother in law of one of the conspirators was told not to attend parliament on november 5 (when they would ignite the explosives) by an anonymous letter. Guy Fawkes, one of the conspirators was caught in the cellar, then tortured to find out the other conspirators’ identities. All conspirators were executed for treason. They wanted a catholic leader rather than a protestant government. Now on November 5 Guy Fawkes day is celebrated. It is also known as Guy Fawkes night, bonfire night and fireworks night. The Sugar Conspiracy: In 1971 the American secretary of agriculture was instructed to devise a plan to make food cheaper Farmers were pushed to mass produce corn so companies could use it in their products to decrease the cost of them Because of this high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) was produced at about the same time People believe HFCS is as addictive as cocaine and boosts fat storing hormones which suppress leptin, the hormone which makes us feel full. Why did food companies use HFCS in their products? Did they already know the addictive capabilities of HFCS to get profit at the expense of the world’s health? Russian Doping Scandal: The Russian doping conspiracy is a recently confirmed conspiracy theory. The doping was a state- funded regime in which Russian officials concealed the positive drug test results of over 1000 Russian competitors in over 30 different sports. Around one hundred athletes were banned from competing at the 2016 Olympics In Rio De Janeiro. However, higher officials claim to not be involved but this is yet to be verified. Vladimir Putin denied these relavations just a week previously. Anna Antseliovich, the director of Russia's anti-doping agency, told the New York Times that this leak was true but has also denied the higher levels of government had been involved. Vitaly Smirnov, a member of the IOC appointed by the Russian President, said that ‘we have made a lot of mistakes’ in relation to this, while refusing to admit that the conspiracy was funded by the government. Magnate Conspiracy: The Magnate conspiracy, was a 17th-century attempt to throw off Habsburg other foreign influences over Hungary and Croatia. The attempted coup was caused by the unpopular Peace of Vasvár, and struck in 1664 between Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I and the Ottoman Empire. The poorly organized attempt at revolt gave the Habsburgs reason to clamp down on their opponents. The expansion of the Ottoman Empire into Europe began in the middle of the 14th century leading to confrontation with both Serbia and the Byzantine Empire and culminating in the defeat of both nations in, respectively, the Battle of Kosovo (1389) and the Fall of Constantinople (1453). This expansionist policy eventually brought them into conflict with the Habsburgs a number of times during the 16th and 17th centuries.] After the 1526 Battle of Mohács, the middle part of the Kingdom of Hungary was conquered; by the end of the 16th century, it was split into what has become known as the Tripartite — the Habsburg-ruled Royal Hungary to the north, the Ottoman-ruled pashaluk to the south, and Transylvania to the east. A difficult balancing act played itself out as supporters of the Habsburgs battled supporters of the Ottomans in a series of civil wars and wars of independence. Rawalpindi Conspiracy: The Rawalpindi Conspiracy was an attempt to overthrow the first Prime Minister of Pakistan’s government. It was planned by Major-General Akbar Khan. There were three main reasons why it occurred. One: the army thought that the government was corrupt. Two: the army thought that British officers in the army were a security threat. Three: the army didn’t like how the PM was handling the Kashmir war with India. There were 11 army officers and four civilians involved. It failed after one of Akbar’s advisors informed the government. Newburgh Conspiracy: The Newburgh Conspiracy was a planned conspiracy that occurred in March 1783, at the end of the American Civil War. It was started by an anonymous letter that circulated through the army camp in Newburgh, New York. The letter suggested that the army should take unspecified action towards Congress to resolve their lack of funding for pensions and low pay. Commander-in-Chief George Washington quickly resolved the issue by appealing successfully to his officers. Watergate: Watergate was a major political scandal that occurred in the USA in the 1970s following a break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters and President Nixon’s attempted cover-up of it. The name Watergate and the suffix -gate have come to mean political and non-political scandals in the US, and in some other parts of the world. Category:History